Resources
Once you've colonized a new planet (or captured a planet already colonized by someone else), it will be begin producing resources for you that you can use to upgrade the colony and build fllets. There are seven resources in total (not including population and treasury). Basic Resources Steel, Food, and Hydrocarbon are in production right from the start, while Antimatter starts at SL 27, and Consumer Goods SL 34. Steel '''is the most essential resource as it is the foundation of all ships and upgrades. '''Food will be in abundant supply until it is a very advanced colony (around SL80) at which point it will stop producing enough food to feed its population, which can cripple your colony with starvation. Colonies with plenty of money on hand won't starve immediately however, they can produce the extra food needed to feed its population, referred to as Emergency Food Subsidies. If the colony has to spend extra money to feed its population, there will be a yellow circle around your colony. If the colony runs out of money to produce this emergency food supply, your colony will experience famine, there will be a red circle around your colony. As people starve to death your colony's population will start to decrease. You can address food shortages by using Mind Control to keep the colony's society level from going up before food production falls off, or by using the Farming Planetary Upgrade to divert production capacity to farming, or by building Bulkfreighters to bring in food from other colonies. Hydrocarbons '''are needed to build the Long Range Sensor upgrades and the Regional Government upgrade for your colony. Your colony will stop producing hydrocarbons sometime after SL 100. '''Antimater is another essential resource as it is needed for all ships, however new colonies start out with a very low supply and will not start producing more until SL 27. Consumer Goods are all the goods that keep your planetary colonists happy in their new homes. Advanced Resources To produce Krellmetal and Unobtanium, planetary upgrades are necessary. Matter Synth 1 (built at SL 35) is need to produce Krellmetal '''which begins production at ~SL 40 and Matter Synth 2 (built once MS1 is complete, at SL 45) will produce '''Unobtanium. These last two resources are essential for the construction of major military vessels. Other Resources The population '''and the '''treasury, although not actual resouces are also essential in running the planet. As long as there are at least a few people still alive on your colony, its population will grow over time and will only decrease to staff ships and planetary upgrades, if the planet is attacked by hostile fleets, or your colony runs out of food. Your population is the main factor in the production of resources, and so it is essential to protect and maintain a large population to ensure enough manpower is available to produce the resources the colony needs. A colony's treasury is based on the taxation of your planets productivity. The higher your taxes, the more money the colony government has to build ships and upgrade the colony. Be careful however, as higher taxes also discourage production. Ships require financial resources every turn to keep them in operation, so some taxation will be necessary in order to pay for their upkeep. Planetary upgrades also require financial resources, if the colony runs out of funds the planetary upgrades can become inactive.